New roads

We've had a good time watching the diggers make these road,

and we've been dying to try them out!!!

I wish I could ride a bike like Jack!

Of course,

we had to check out all the other cool stuff on the roads...

The diggers' buckets...

All the piles of gravel...

And check out the size of this wheel loader!

There was one of just about every digger

we could name

Oh, the benefits of living in a

growing neighborhood!

Geo-world

It's been a while since we got out all the Geotrax...

Go big or go home...

Our set up took over my room!

They even went under the bed

This kept Wes and I quiet for hours.

Did Mom and Dad set this up for us or them?

Manners

You must take your hat off when you climb into bed.

It's only polite.

Christmas in July

The Kansas City-based Woods Family

usually only gets together at Christmas...

everyone is so busy!

It was a special treat to see everyone

without the stockings and trees!

A tour of the family:

Mark and Aunt Mandy

Papa Bear, Grandma Janice

and me

This time with Aunt Peggy

Vince and Chelsea

Matt and Carol

Jake and Steve

The rest of the Reeds

and starlet Rachel

The chicken was tasty

and the company was AWESOME!

Why don't we all get together more often?

Mega veggies

The garden is exploding!!!

We have dozens of tomatoes, cucumbers, and jalapeños.

And what's the world record for a zucchini?

These suckers are 2 1/2 feet long and several pounds.

We gotta be getting close!

Superfans

Why wouldn't you eat popsicles on the counter

while watching the Olympics?

It's definitely a better view than the couch!

On the pontoon...

Well, I guess it's not a pontoon

like the song says,

but we love it all the same.

Weston got in some AWESOME jumps:

wait for it...

SPLASH!

Nothing like swimming at sunset

Even better with friends!

Our new friend Brock came with us today

(Our mom and his Dad went to college and medical school together,

and now they live in our neighborhood!)

It's hard to see,

but I like to drive with my arm on the side of the boat.

Why?

Because that's how Dad does it.

Family Fun Night

We decided to attempt mini golf tonight.

The Heinz family came along to make it a 

DOUBLE Family Fun Night!

Daddy tried to help me with my swing

Mika provided a lot of coaching for Mike

But what we were best at was chasing everyone's balls

and handing them back 

(before anyone actually completed a hole)

And running around hitting the balls

as fast as we could.

All at once.

 Jack was pretty good

The Victory Dance

Not too bad of a night for 

two 2 year olds and a 4 year old!

Big man on campus, err, pool

This is my 3rd year in swim lessons.

I'm in the Sea Turtles again this year.

I'm an old hat at this!

First, you start by talking about pool rules

and water safety.

I definitely give the longest, most thorough answers.

Others may say "Don't run"

I say "You have to be careful when you get in the water and be sure you aren't jumping on a rock and be sure an adult is watching or a lifeguard is there and where your lifejacket in the lake and scream "HELP" if you need help..."

Then, you get to get in and get to work!

I'm listening intently about thumbs up, raise your hand, and high five the water

(also known as the backstroke)

Kicks are always a good time

 I LOVE to ask to go first for EVERYTHING:

Scoops and kicks across the pool

Back floats

Sometimes my legs get haywire...

Front floats

And glides

One of my favorites is the Monkey Song

at the end of class

We all take turns jumping in when the alligator

"snaps" us up!

My other favorite?

THE DIVING BOARD!

We marched over to take our class' turn

I patiently waited my turn

Proudly walked to the end

And with NO hesitation,

JUMPED!

Under...

And safely up!

Thanks for the ride, Miss Taylor!

(We'll try and figure out the video too)

It was so awesome.

The peanut gallery was impressed.

Even other parents commented on my bravery and my jumping skills.

We got to go 2 more times!

It was so great.

Weston was disappointed his lessons ended a day before mine,

but Grandpa kept him busy.

This is what happens if you poke the Water Bear...

Swim lessons are great!

We rule the pool!